The Doctor is Dying
by Mewsman
Summary: A short drabble I wrote while listening to some Chameleon Circuit. Basically, 10 and Rose hears the song.


The door swung open, letting in a warm breeze of fading summer. A man, the man, strolled in, casually waving his arms and explaining some advanced theory to the shorter blonde walking by his side.

"Okay, I'll pretend I understood half of what you said, Doctor." Rose laughed, throwing herself into a chair.

"But it wasn't even that complicated, you just take.. wait, where did that speaker come from?" The Doctor asked, gesturing towards a medium sized speaker of no remarkable design placed in the corner of the lounge.

"That.. It looks like a speaker! You know, a normal speaker without hidden laser-chipsets, a proper relic from good old Earth. Are you certain you didn't pick it up when we visited mum?"

The Doctor narrowed his eyes and furrowed his brows, apparently in deep concentration.

"Mmmmm..", he muttered, rubbing the back of his head. In the end, he apparently came to no conclusion, as he let his hand fall and exclaimed "Nope!", popping the _p. _

Fifteen minutes had passed with the Doctor observing the speaker from a distance, giving no clue at it's origin whatsoever.

"Oh well, didn't expect much more. Perhaps it's time for a closer investigation then", he said as flicked on the ON switch on it's back. It sparked to life, and a robotic voice announced happily:

"And now for a song by our all favorite band _Chameleon Circuit!_"

"Chameleon Circuit? Isn't that what the Tardis's camoflague is called?" Rose asked, looking hesitantly over at the Doctor.

"Yes, it is. This is most concerning. Oh, but now it begins!" he finished in a happy tone, clapping his hands together as a song began to play.

_It is returning through the dark._

_Doctor, you have met your mark._

Rose shot a look at the Doctor, who sat comfortably in his chair, apparently not concerned whatsoever.

_Your song is ending, sir, don't cry._

The Doctor's smile shrank somewhat, while Rose found herself more concerned by the minute. Was this some sort of warning?

_When you hear him knock four times._

"What?" The Doctor shrugged in reply, apparently as clueless as her.

_You're going to regenerate._

"Nothing new." he sighed, quietly, so Rose wouldn't hear it.

_Some new man saunters away._

"Oh, now that is scary. I have never uttered that phrase, yet I have thought it oh so many times" Maybe this song was a warning of some kind.

_No time for games, tonight we fight._

_For the fate of all mankind._

"Nothing new there, eh, Doctor?" Rose joked, in an obvious attempt to lighten the quickly sombering situation.

_I could do so much more._

_The time lords returning, the earth will be burning,_

_The last white point star is a trap for the master._

Whoa there, rewind.

"Returning, Doctor?"

"Nothing positive, I assure you." They would surely have grown bitter and angry, and "the earth will be burning" makes it sound oh so much more sinister.

Wasn't he missing something? _A trap for the master. _Oh! He wasn't alone. Seemingly, but not factually. A little assuring thought, however much he would like to not be the sole survivor no longer.

_The doctor is dying._

_The doctor is dying._

_The doctor is dying._

_The doctor is dying._

Her eyes flashed to him, fear? visible in her eyes.

"Nothing to worry about. It already stated I was going to regenerate. In a way, every time I regenerate the man I am dies."

_I don't want to go._

_I don't want to go._

"No, I never usually do. What if I end up with two heads?" Yet another joke failing to brighten the mood.

_Wilfred will be by your side._

"Do you know him? Wilfed I mean?"

"Nope."

_You will always save his life._

_Hold on now, not long to wait._

_Till they bring back Gallifrey._

Oh snap. The Earth is burning and Gallifrey is returning? The Master is in the mix, and he was apparently dying. What else could go wrong?

_I'll sing you to your sleep._

_The time lords returning, the earth will be burning,_

_The last white point star is a trap for the master._

_The doctor is dying._

_The doctor is dying._

_The doctor is dying._

_The doctor is dying._

A morbid chorus, that much was certain.

Casting a glance at Rose, she was silent, and personally, he was quite happy for it. This, message?, was quite a lot to take in.

_I don't want to go._

_I don't want to go._

_Just one more thing before you fall,_

_You'll be getting your reward._

"Oh, that's a new one." Again he made care to say it ever so quietly, a whisper barely past his lips.

_Back in time for those you know._

_Martha, Donna, Jack and Rose._

Silence. The song stopped and time froze, the equilibrium stretching on and on for what seemed like millenia.

"I did promise you forever, but I guess it wasn't mine to give." Audible voice crack, he observed. Further observations confirmed his suspicions that Rose was, indeed, close to crying. Him? Timelords are above such things as petty sadness. The hollow feeling was just his imagination running wild.

And then, as it never happened, time rebooted.

_The time lords returning, the earth will be burning,_

_The last white point star is a trap for the master._

_The time lords returning, the earth will be burning,_

_The last white point star is a trap for the master._

_The doctor is dying._

_The doctor is dying._

_The doctor is dying._

_The doctor is dying._

_And I don't want to go._

_I don't want to go._

The song faded off, but the pair sat there, the silence a heavy, physical thing pressing down on them.

Oh, the future was bleak indeed.


End file.
